Loaf wrapping machine



T. JENSEN LOAF WRAPPING MACHINE June 17, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 9, 1945 Ni- ENTOR ATZ'OZEYYE'Y v AWN MQ mwN THORMOD JENSEN MN b June 17, 1952 T. JENSEN LOAF WRAPPING MACHINE E s N E INVENTOR.

THORMOD 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 9, 1945 m W w A June 17, 1952 T. JENSEN 2,600,878

LOAF WRAPPINGMACHINE- Filed June 9, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 THORMOD JENSEN Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOAF WRAPPING MACHINE Thormod Jensen, Laureltom N. Y., assignor to American, Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 9, 1945, Serial No. 598,428

5 Claims. 1

This invention relates to wrapping machines, more particularly tomachines for wrapping sliced bread loaves in a so-called duplex package which is formedby fully wrapping separate halfloaves, then assembling them in end-to-end relationship and applying an outer wrapper.

The main object or the invention is to provide an apparatus for forming multiple unit packages whichis capable of operation at a high rate otspeed, To this endthere is provided an endless conveyor having pairs'of flights arranged to provide pockets which are each adapted to receive a half-loaf from; a loaf divider operating to. subdivide the sliced loaves delivered froma slicing maehine. The conveyor then advances one of the half loaves in saidpockets to the transfer station of a half loa f wrapping machine and subsequently; advances the other half loaf to the transfer station of a second half-loaf wrapping machine while pairs of separated halfloaves are delivered to pairs ofconveyor pockets successively advanced into position to receive a pair of half-loaves from the loaf-divider. Thus ajpair of separated half loaveswill be delivered the" conveyor simultaneously with the delivery of a pair o f half loaves to the half-loaf wrapping machines, to permit the wrapping of the halfloaves t be carried; out at a high rate f speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide anapparatus suitable for wrapping duplex packages and employing conventional wrapping machines, such as a machine of the type shown in the patent to Y. Armstrong, No. 1,626,379. To this end the half loaves are transferred from the conveyor to a pair of; conventional wrapping ma hines which. separately Wrap the, sliced halfloaves. The. wrapped halffloaves issuing from thewrapping machines are delivered to conveyr iwlliq assemble em n rtor n r ti nshipand; transfer them to a third conventional wrapping machine wherein they are wrapped in a. common wrapper; to form a duplex package. Withimy apparatusnone of the wrappin machine employed need-to be of duplex construction. Therefore conventionali wrapping machines may' be used inrny apparatus without having to, be rebuilt, Moreover the conveyors may be or conventional construction.

There is-now: available apparatus including a duplex typew o f'wrappifng machine and-a conventional; wrapping machine for the formation of multiple unit, packages. However the constructicn ofjthe duplex wrapping machine requires two sets of; pushers; tuckers, folders, sealers; and coolers in which the separated-halv'esof a sliced bread loaf are separately wrapped. The wrapped loaf-halves are then delivered to the conventional wrapping machine wherein the wrapped loafhalves are Wrapped in a common wrapper after being assembled in. end-to-end relationship. Due tov the required duplexing of the pushers, tuckers, folders, etc., in the duplex machine of. said apparatus a. very limited: range of adjustment isobtained; Grdinarily the permissible range of adjustment of the apparatus referred to requires that. the sliced loaf be not shorter than 11. inches andnot longer than 12' inches.

Another object of the invention is to provide for handling of various lengths of loaves within the range of adjustment of the machines. With the type -o'fwrapping machine selected to exemplify the invention, the range of adjustment is 7" to 16", and in my apparatus this range of adjustment is permissible. Thus half-loavesbetween 3 and 8," in length may be wrapped and then finally wrapped to form multiple unit packages.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists in certain constructions and, combinations which will be hereinafter described} and then set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings whichform a part, of this. specification and'in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. 1. is a plan'view of two standard wrapping machines arranged to receive half-loaves from a slicerunit and separately wrap the half-loaves and deliver them to a third standard wrapping machine wherein'the assembled half-loaves are wrapped in a common wrapper;

Fig. 2 is a side elevationon an enlarged. scale taken from the line 2-2. of Fig. l of one of the machines for wrapping half-loaves and the slicer unit in which the loaves are. sliced and. separated into half-loaves; and

Fist} is aside elevation on an enlarged scale o-ithesame machine with certainparts broken awayltaken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referringwto. Figs. 1 and2 of the drawings, it will be seen-that the; unsliced bread loaves A are advanced; through aslicing machine IU wherein they are: sliced, and the. sliced-loaves are delivered to. a separator unit S wherein they are separated into half loavesB and C. A suitable-slicing machine for thisv purpose is shown in the patent to A. Di Prima, No. 2,253,367, issued All'gllStfIQ, 1941, which is provided with a conveyor I2 for advancing the loaves through the slicing machine. The separator unit S has a construction similar to that shown in the Hexter et a1. Patent No. 2,332,316, issued October 19, 1943. The sliced loaves emerging from the slicing machine are delivered upon a table 4 of the separator unit S, the table being supported by a frame I6. forming a part of the slicing machine. The sliced loaves are advanced along table I4 by successive bars or flights I8 supported by spaced endless sprocket chains 26 running 7 over sprockets 22 and 24 (Fig. 2) and suitably driven continuously. Two pairs of diverging guides 26 and 27 are supported above the flights I8 from U-shaped bars 28 fastened to frame I6. The inner ends of the two inner guides 26, which may be formed of flexible material, are fastened to a tapered blade 29 which serves to separate the sliced loaves into half loaves B and C while the loaves are advanced along table I4 by flights I8. The outer guides 21 are supported from the bars 28 by wing nuts 38 which pass through elongated slots 3| in the bars 28 and are threaded into lugs on the upper ends of guides 21in the same manner as shown in Fig. 8 of the above-mentioned Hexter et al. patent. The inner guides 26 are supported by wing nuts 32 passing through elongated slots 33 in the middle sections of bars 28 and threaded into lugs on the upper ends of guides 26. ible, their outer edges may be swung laterally toward and away from each other upon unloosening the screws 32 supporting their outer ends. The guides 21 may be correspondingly moved in the opposite direction upon unloosening the screws 38 supporting them, to positions wherein they are parallel to the adjusted positions of guides 26. In this manner the guides 26 and 21 may be adjusted to accommodate various lengths of half-loaves.

The separated half loaves B and C advanced by flights I8 are delivered by pusher arms 34 between pairs of opposed flights 35 and 36 of a conveyor J. It should be noted that the flights 35 are secured to links of sprocket chain 38 and the flights 36 are secured to links of sprocket chain 48. The arms 34 are supported by a shaft 42 mounted in brackets 44 fastened to frame I6. The shaft 42 is oscillated by linkage 45 actuated by mechanism (not shown). The movement of arms 34' is so timed that they help to deliver a pair of half loaves B and C simultaneously between two pairs of flights 35, 36, while they dwell in position to receive the half loaves. The sprocket chains 38 and are driven by sprockets 46 and 48 which are mounted upon a shaft 58 (Figs. 1 and 2) mounted in brackets 52 and 54 (Fig. 2) which may be suitably supported. Sprocket chains 38 and 40 also run over idler sprockets 56 and 58 (Fig. 3) which are mounted on a shaft (not shown) supported by brackets 60 and 62. Since the construction and operation of arms 34 and the sprocket chains 38 and 46 is more fully disclosed in the above mentioned Hexter et al. Patent No. 2,332,316, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary except to state that the sprockets 46 and 48 are rotatably adjustable relative to each other to vary the spacing between each pair of flights 35 and 36.

When the spacing of the pairs of flights 35 and 36 is adjusted to accommodate different lengths of loaves, the spacing of the guides 26 and 21 should be correspondingly adjusted. For this purpose the nuts 38 and 33 on bars 28 are unloosened and the guides 26 and 21 aremoved Since the guides 26 are flex- 4 toward or away from each other sufficiently to ad mit the desired length of half loaves B and C.

The first wrapping machine The sprocket chains 38 and 46 are intermittently driven by suitable mechanism of conventional construction (not shown) to advance the half loaf B inserted between a pair of flights 35 and 36 to a transfer station in the first wrapping machine WI. The half loaves B and C in the two pairs of flights 35, 36 are thus advanced along a runway of standard construction consisting of spaced laterally inclined strips 64 and 66 and a side wall 68 arranged at right angles to the outer edge of strip 64. The flights 35 and 36 project upwardly through the space between the 3 inner edges of plates 64 and 66 into positions wherein they engage and advance the half loaves along strips 64 and 66.

The side wall 68 is interrupted at the transfer station in the first wrapping machine WI to which the half loaf B is advanced by flights 35 and 36, to permit the half loaf at said transfer station to be ejected from the pair of flights 35 and 36 into the wrapping machine by a pusher plate 70 carried by a reciprocable rod l2.--It will be noted that while the half loaf B is at this transfer station the other half loaf in the adjoining pair of flights 35, 36 occupies a position CI (Fig. 1) beyond the transfer station for half loaf B. The rod 12 is slidably mounted in brackets I4 supported from the side frames I6 of the wrapping machine W, the frontside frame 16 being broken away in Fig; 3 to expose the lifter table 66. Rod 12 is provided with a cross-head 18 on which is pivotally mounted a link connected by an arm 82 to a shaft 84 which is supported in frames 16 and oscillated by a cam (not shown). Thus the pusher plate 18 is advanced between the pair of flights 35 and 36 at the transfer station to deliver the half loaf B to the lifter table 86 which has a hub pivotally mounted on a shaft 68 supported in frames 16. The lifter table 86 is swung upwardly from the inclined position shown in Fig. 3 at which it receives the half loaf B to a horizontal position, by a link 90 operated by a cam (not shown). The web of wrapping material 92 is drawn off a roll R of wrapping material and guided through a web feed mechanism (not shown) to a position wherein the leading end of the wrapping material is positioned between the loaf half B at the transfer station andthe lifter table 86. The webfeed mechanism may be of any suitable construction such as shown in Gwinn Patent No. 1.626,409, issued April 26, 1927.

As the half loaf B is delivered to the lifter table 86 it presses the wrapping material 92 against a tension plate of conventional construction which is slidably mounted on the lifter table, and thus the half loaf B is partially enfolded in the leading end of the web of wrapping material. Dur: ing this transfer operation the. wrapping material is tucked over the ends of the half loaf B by a pair of tuckers '92 which are fastened to a pair of arms 94. The arms 94 are secured by bolts 95 on a pair of brackets 96 slidably mount ed on shaft 538 at either side of the hub of lifter table 86, the bolts 95 passing through suitable slots in brackets 96. The brackets 96 are provided with cams 91 which are held by springs (not shown) against rollers 98 carried by a block I08 loosely mounted on shaft 88 between the forked ends of the hub of table 86. A link I82 pivotally connected to block 108 is actuated to accuses reel; block anon. s af -8 and there y sp ead. he tuolrers ariart Wh le he oaf half 13 i del e ed o the lifter tablet Re ence, may b had o Fi 7 of the W rd Patent N v 236 1 6 f r fur her de cr tion f h man nw eh th bra kets 96 an bl ck .10 ar oun ed on the shaf it Ea h f t e ac ets 96 i ro ide wi h an adjusting c e I03 which is threaded nt he ad oin n a m; 9. U n i es eh he t bolts 95 the pa in f th arms 94 may e re ulated b tu nin crews Itiand t us t spa in oi th th hers. ma bevaried o a semmodate. di ie eht len ths o eaves he hal le f 3 been elive ed to. the li ter table h blo k U19. ree bac stop t in tia o on nd the ucke 2 .tue 's' t e wra pin vmate ial as .t ends 9 the half that B- hes the con tr ction i st ri ed i s mi a to that d s.- closedih the he. mae hedesisnated 2 in he Fig 6 oi t e, ab e mentioned ,HeXter etal. Pat nt 2,335 759 issuedhcvenibe 19 further des r pt on th oii s ee nec ssa y- Theliite ta le 8 i th n tur o it her pasitioh a -whic he partially Wra ped halt l a B i advanced, upon a s ler tabl 0 ma ner whic i he he e a ter des bed Du. he he a ce t oi the li t r table, addit onal wra p ng materia o f h roll R and the We oi Wrap ing eri is. d aped r h re r tape. of he ha f ea 3, y a ea n-actua ed lap rol r n t shewn A tl mp oll mounted in a ivoted. frame .0. t en p esses the eb of wra ing ma e ial a ains a rol n shown m unt d n the free. end, Q t e,v i ter l the fram L03. beins operat d y a. tq

heet hs l me I item; suit b emeehahism s h s show n the J nsen Pat nt 211189 3 i sue Ma .1938: rior to he adv n e of h a ia lv wrap ed a loaf B: upon thesea in tabl its he. ra ing m te ial severe y a knife us .ihe h ed e a riveted rame I l actuat d through a link 1 11 from a Suitable cam (not sho n a Dur ng t eseeht of ii r abl the e ds i par y W pe ha le B. pass wee t e :s 120 w ch ens se th o t on of th V s; m er a ext nd ng bove t e op edges v. loa B and: fold. it downw d y o e th the rs-1's 2, The. h lf lo f B is ew iios t o o he ad anced n t he s i table 10.5w time of a s r es f hu hers 2 of we l k own con,- strhetionr ea ned b r s 2 ct n pa a l en s sprseket cha ns. 9 h ch run ov s s fi and 8 supp rt d b suitabl h aelge s cu e to am s 16 the o ke s 28 being m u e on shaf 130 prov ed with a sprocket [3'2 drivcn by a sprocket chain I34. When the partially wrapped half loaf B is, enases by usher 22 it is a ed we plough folders 1351 which rold inwardly the wrapper flaps extending from. the leading face of half le 3- The par ally wra ped l l f .3 ew passes between. the bottom folders I31, and the wrabl er na s at the, bottom or the half loafi onat the slots" I33 between the inclined edges of fold rs 3:5, and t] n a e i e 1- u wardly against the ends of halfloaf B. .'I -he coin pl etcly he'd a a-e1 is rt r; W nt d tw en hea ede e s a rs 0. w ic e s t e overlapped, end flaps or. the wrapper to adhere tolleacli other. Since the structure for supporttli-foldcrs 120;; I35 and 138 and tho sealers I431 isffully described in the, above-.mcntioned Heater et. a1. patent, further description thereof is de m unneces a y- 6 The wrapped a d s l d ha tea 13,! i de.-: liver-ed by the p s e 22 nt a s n e or K which is similar in construction to the conveyor 20 of the. abov -menti e Hex e et Pa en except ior cert in i fe ehee Whi be e einafter. des ribed- The c nve he eo h cludes a seal cool n n onsist of a tab e 1501mm which he apped, th-l B is is livered by the pus 21. T seal cooling includes a pair of parallel refrigerated mcmbcrs I52 x mii sv l n the a le 5.9 and ra e hificiently to n age e. h s a ed e s of he wrapped half-loaf B wh le he ame is a li ht by convey r li hts [5 a r ed by a d driven sprocket chains I56, The construction or sea o in un t is th am s th s aw i he ahov ment ened H t r et a1.- patent exce tth t the members L52 hereo re s d cl ser t ether than the orrespondin O t r embers '11. and I]; of the Hexter et al. patent and th c i nn e r mcrnhers 112; and IN of the Hcxter ct a1. patent itted! Th m m e I 2, eof are t rported; by brackets I51 fastened to adjustable rails 553 orresp nd ng to t rai 182 su p rti the ou e m mb rs 172 o aid H r et a1, paten whe efore y mbers '35? maybe adjusted toward and awayfrom each other-to accommod te di en len hs 0 f-l B} From. th sea coo n i h W p ed a 5??? B is, advanced by t nv yor flights '5 tween guides Hi3 which are supported in the mann r as the u de 6 9f the Heater et eht- Howe er t ev u de i ti th Heater, et pa en a errahs dih eh re ns relationshi W e as m g i es t?! e Pa a e and are inclined relatively to members 152 to guide the wrapped half-loaves Bl along table to a predetermined position wherein they are engaged by an oscillat ng arm I62 simil r to arm 32 and thus transferred to a conveyor L. However, my guides. are suppo ted by brackcts lol fastened to the adjustable rails [53. Therefore the spacing of my uides I will be varied to admit dificrent lengths of wrapped half-loavcsBl whenthemembers lfiz are adjusted. f

Like. the conveyor J the nvey i vidod with a runway similar to the runway of the conveyor J and including a pair or laterally inclined spaced strips forming the bottom of the runway anda side wall secured to the outerfcdge ofv one of the strips. The conveyor flights [$5 and I66 of conveyor L are similar in construction'to the flights. 3.5, and 36 of conveyor J and similarly project upwardly through the spac between the strips forming the bottom of the runway. The flights I65. and 166 are supported on sprocket chains I61 and 568 respectively, which are driven by separate sprockets on a shaft Hi), and these sprockets are rotatably adjustable relative to each other on shaft I'll to vary the spacing of flights I65 and. lfifilto accommodate pairsqoi wrapped half-loaves BI and CI of various len ths. Since the construction of conveyor L is thesame as. that of the. conveyor J except that the flights I55 and I66 are sufficiently spaced to admit a pair of wrapped half-loaves B! and Cl, further description of its structure is deemed unnecessary.

The second wrapping machine of the flights 35 and 36 and the length of the sprocket chains 38 and. 40 is predetermined so that while a half-loaf B is at the transfer station in the wrapping machine WI a half-loaf C will be at the transfer station in the second wrapping machine W2. The construction of the wrapping machine W2 is similar to the wrapping machine WI, and further description thereof is deemed unnecessary except to state that when a wrapped half-loaf BI is delivered to the conveyor K a wrapped half-loaf CI will be delivered to the conveyor K2 which has a construction similar to conveyor K including a similar spacing of the conveyor flights. The conveyors K and K2 are timed to simultaneously advance wrapped half-loaves BI and CI to the conveyor L. Thus a wrapped half-loaf CI will be delivered to the conveyor L in a position C2 between a flight I66 and a wrapped half-loaf BI previously delivered in front of the opposed flight I65. The spacing of the flights I65 and I66 and the length of the sprocket chains on which they are supported are so predetermined that when a wrapped half-loaf BI is delivered to position B2 in front of one of flights I65 it will be advanced successively to positions B3 and B4 and finally will reach a position B5 where it dwells while a wrapped halfloaf is being delivered into the position C2 in the space between the flight I66 and the wrapped half-loaf B5. With my construction of the conveyor L this relationship will be maintained although flights I65 are adjusted toward or away from the flights I66, because the flights I65 will be aligned with the outer guide I60 and the flights I66 will be aligned with the corresponding outer guide of conveyor K2.

The third wrapping machine The conveyor L' intermittently advances the wrapped half-loaves BI and CI assembled in endto-end relationship between the flights I65 and I66 thereof to a predetermined transfer station in a third wrapping machine W3. The wrapping machine W3 may have a construction similar to that of the wrapping machine designated 24 in the above-mentioned Hexter et al. patent and shown in Fig. 6 thereof, wherefore description of wrapping machine W3 hereof is deemed unnecessary. However it will be noted that pairs of wrapped half -loaves BI and CI are wrapped in a common wrapper to form packages P whose ends are heat sealed, and the sealed packages P are delivered to a seal cooling unit S which advances the packages P upon a delivery table T. The construction of the seal cooling unit is similar to the seal cooling unit of the conveyor KI, and therefore further description of unit S is believed unnecessary.

Each of the wrapping machines WI, W2 and W3 is driven from a motor M which is equipped with a variable speed drive from which is driven a sprocket chain 200. A shaft 262 driven by the sprocket chain 200 is suitably connected to the wrapping machines WI and W2 for driving the same. A sprocket chain 204 driven from shaft 202 is connected to the machine W3 to drive the same.

The operation of the entire apparatus will now be briefly described. The sliced half-loaves issuing from the slicer I8 are advanced by the bars I6 supported on the sprocket chains 26 past the tapered blade 29 and thereby subdivided into half-loaves B and C. The separated half-loaves B and C are advanced along table I4 by bars I6 until they are deposited in the pockets formed by the pairs of flights 35, 36 of the conveyor J. It should be noted that when the guides 26 and 21 of the separator unit S are adjusted to accommodate different lengths of half-loaves, and the chains 38 and 40 supporting flights 35 and 36 are correspondingly adjusted to vary the size of the pockets between flights 35 and 36, the outer ends of the guides 26 and 21 will be aligned with the pairs of flights 35 and 36 between which the half-loaves are to be deposited.

The half-loaves B and C delivered between the pairs of flights 35, 36 are then advanced by the flights to a position where the half-loaf B at the transfer station of the wrapping machine WI will be delivered to the wrapping machine WI by pusher II for wrapping to form a half-loaf package BI. The conveyor J subsequently advances the half loaf C to the transfer station of the wrapping machine W2 into which it is delivered for wrapping to form the half-loaf package CI. In this connection it may be noted that the distance from centers of the pair of half-loaves B and C in the pairs of flights 35, 36 at loaf-receiving position shown in Fig. l to the centers of the half-loaves at the transfer stations of the wrapping machines WI and W2 remains constant regardless of the adjustment of the sprocket chains 38 and 46 to admit different sizes of halfloaves. Therefore for all adjustments of the sprocket chains 38 and 40 to admit different sizes of half-loaves the half-loaves at the transfer stations in wrapping machines WI and W2 will be at proper positions for delivery thereto after the tuckers and folders thereof have been adjusted to the desired size of half-loaf.

The wrapped half-loaves BI issuing from the wrapping machine WI are delivered by the conveyor K into a position B2 in front of one of the flights I65 of the conveyor L. The wrapped halfloaves BI are advanced by flights I65 from the position B2 to the position B5, and a wrapped half-loaf is delivered by the conveyor K2 into the space between the package at B5 and the adjoining flight I66. The wrapped half-loaves are thus assembled in end-to-end relationship and then advanced to the transfer station of the wrapping machine W3 for wrapping in a common wrapper to produce the pantry package. It should also be noted that when the sprocket chains I61 and I 68 of conveyor L are adjusted by displacing them in opposite directions to accommodate different sizes of packages, that the distance from the inner end face of the package at position B5 to the center of the transfer station 1n wrapping machine W3 will always remain constant. Moreover the distance from the inner end face of the package at position B2 on conveyor L to the inner end face of the package at position B5 will remain constant regardless of the adjustment of the flights of conveyor L. Therefore, when the sprocket chains I61 and I68 of conveyor L are adjusted for different sizes of packages, the position of the outer ends of the inner guides I of conveyor L and the corresponding guide of conveyor K2 need not be varied, but the outer ends of the outer guide I60 of conveyor K and the corresponding outer guide of conveyor K2 will have to be displaced to align them with the adjusted positions of the flights I and I66, respectively, of the pockets in which packages B2 and B5 are located. Accordingly, since the members I52 of conveyor K and the corresponding members of conveyor K2 are adjusted equally in opposite directions to admit different sizes of packages, the outer guide I60 and the corresponding outer guide of conveyor K2 are swung outwardly to align theirouter ends with the adjusted positions of the flights I65 and I66. The inner ends of the inner guide I60 and the corresponding inner guide of conveyor K2 are swung into alignment with the adjusted positions of the inner member I52 and the corresponding inner member of conveyor K2 while their outer ends are maintained in the same position. Thus the guides I60 of conveyor K2 will be aligned with the adjusted positions of the flights of conveyor L and the members I52 and the corresponding members of conveyor K2, and yet will be in positions parallel to each other.

If it is desired to wrap whole loaves only, the

jaw clutch D through which the sprocket chain 204 is driven from the shaft 202 is disengaged. The wrapping machine W3 may be then driven from its own motor drive (not shown) to wrap whole sliced loaves delivered to it by the conveyor L from a slicing machine (not shown). It will be understood that the wrapping machines WI and W2 are not operated when wrapping machineWB is used to wrap whole sliced loaves. The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for assembling pairs of wrapped half-loaves in end-to-end relationship for wrapping in a common wrapper, comprising an intermittently moving conveyor adapted to advance assembled pairs of wrapped half-loaves endwise into a wrapping machine; and a pair of conveying devices operating to advance sidewise and deliver pairs of wrapped half-loaves to said conveyor, said conveyor including pairs of opposed flights, each pair of flights being spaced sufficiently to admit a pair of half-loaves therebetween from said conveying devices, said flights being so arranged that when said conveyor dwells one pair of flights will be disposed adjacent one of said conveying devices to receive a wrapped half-loaf therebetween while another pair of flights is disposed adjacent the other of said conveying devices to receive a wrapped half-loaf from the other of said conveying devices whereby pairs of half-loaves will be assembled in end-toend relationship between pairs of flights on said conveyor for delivery to a wrapping machine.

2. An apparatus for assembling pairs of wrapped half-loaves in end-to-end relationship for wrapping in a common wrapper, comprising an intermittently moving conveyor adapted to advance pairs of wrapped half-loaves endwise into said wrapping machine; and a pair of conveying devices operating to deliver pairs of wrapped half-loaves sidewise to said conveyor, said conveying devices each including a pair of guides engaging the ends of the half-loaves conveyed therein, and said conveyor including pairs of opposed flights, each pair of flights being spaced sufficiently to admit a pair of half-loaves therebetween from said conveying devices and adjustable toward and away from each other by equal amounts to admit pairs of half-loaves of different lengths, said flights being so arranged that when said conveyor dwells one pair of flights will be disposed adjacent one of said conveying devices to receive a wrapped half- 10 loaf therebetween while another pair of flights is disposed'adjacent the other of said conveying devices to receive a wrapped half-loaf from the other of said conveying devices whereby pairs of half-loaves will be assembled in end-to-end relationship between pairs of flights on said con veyor for delivery to a wrapping machine, one guide of each pair of said guides being aligned with the center ofthe space between the pair of flights adjacent thereto when the conveyor dwells, and the other guide of each pair of guides being aligned with one of said adjacent pair of flights and adjustable to maintain this alignment irrespective of adjustment of the flights toward and away from each other.

3. An apparatus for delivering half-loaves to a pair of laterally spaced wrapping machines to be separately wrapped, comprising an intermittently traveling conveyor, a plurality of pairs of flights on said conveyor, means mounting said flights of said pairs of flights spaced sufliciently to admit a half-loaf between each pair of flights, said flights being 50 arranged that when said conveyor dwells two adjoining pairs of flights will be positioned to receive a pair of half-loaves simultaneously at a predetermined receiving station adjacent a side of one of said machines while another pair of flights between which a half-loaf was inserted at said receiving station dwells at a predetermined transfer station in said one of said machines to permit delivery of a half-loaf therefrom to said one of said wrapping machines, and another pair of flights between which a half-loaf was inserted at said receiving station will be positioned without and adjacent the other of said wrapping machines to be subsequently advanced to a transfer station in said other of said wrapping machines to permit delivery of a half-loaf therefrom to other of said wrapping machines, and means for simultaneously delivering a pair of half-loaves sidewise into the two pairs of flights at the receiving station of said conveyor while a pair of half-loaves is being transferred at said transfer stations from said conveyor to said wrapping machines.

4. An apparatus for delivering half-loaves to a pair of laterally spaced wrapping machines to be separately wrapped, comprising an intermittently traveling conveyor, a plurality of pairs of flights on said conveyor, means mounting said flight of said pairs of flights spaced sufficiently to admit a half-loaf between each pair of flights, said flights being so arranged that when said conveyor dwells two adjoining pairs of flights will be positioned to receive a pair of half-loaves simultaneously at a predetermined receiving station adjacent a side of one of said machines while another pair of flights between which a half-loaf was inserted at said receiving station dwells at a predetermined transfer station in said one of said machines to permit delivery of a half-loaf therefrom to said one of said wrapping machines, and another pair of flights between which a half-loaf was inserted at said receiving station will be positioned adjacent the other of said laterally spaced wrapping machines to be subsequently advanced to a transfer station in said other of said laterally spaced wrapping machines to permit delivery of a halfloaf therefrom to the second wrapping machine; and means for delivering a pair of half-loaves sidewise into two pairs of flights at said receiving station of said conveyor, devices operative substantially simultaneously with said means for transferring a pair of half-loaves at said transfer stations from said conveyor to said wrapping machines, supports mounting said flights of each pair of flights for adjustment by equal amounts toward and away from the center of space therebetween to accommodate halfloaves of difierent lengths, whereby the distances from the centers of the spaces between the two pairs of flights at said receiving station to the centers of said transfer stations will remain constant regardless of the adjustment of said flights toward and away from each other so that the half-loaves at the transfer stations may be delivered to their respective wrapping machines.

5. The combination with conveyors forwarding sidewise individually wrapped half-loaves of sliced bread in separate relatively widely spaced paths, of a wrapping machine arranged to wrap pairs of said individually wrapped half-loaves when assembled end-to-end to form a multiple unit package and having a transfer pusher for pushing loaves to wrapping position, said wrapping machine having an in-feed conveyor extending transversely of the paths of said indi vidually wrapped half-loaves and carrying pairs of opposed flights spaced to receive two halfloaves in end-to-end relation between each pair of opposed flights, laterally spaced delivery stations along said infeed conveyor and mechanism for intermittently moving said conveyor, said mechanism including means for locating each set of flights first in position adjacent one of said stations to receive one of said half-loaves 12 delivered by one of said spaced conveyors adjacent one end of the space between pairs of flights, and second to locate each pair of flights carrying a wrapped half-loaf in position adjacent one of said stations to receive another of said half-loaves adjacent the other end of the space from the other of said spaced conveyors betweensaid pair of flights to form an assembly of a pair of half loaves and finally into the range of action of said pusher to transfer the assembly of a pair of half-loaves to wrapping position in said wrapping machine for final wrapping to complete the multiple unit package, and guides at each of said stations for guiding a wrapped half-loaf between said flights, and between a half-loaf and a flight, respectively.

THORMOD JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,959,004 Hartman Aug. '7, 1934 2,211,433 Papendick Aug. 13, 1940 2,247,401 Papendick July 1, 1941 2,247,695 Papendick July 1, 1941 2,332,316 Hexter et a1. Oct. 19, 1943 2,335,750 Fincke et a1. Nov. 30, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 82,688 Sweden Feb. 19, 1935 

